My Ideal NCAA Football System
posted by Brian @ 1:28 PM
I will take my family's blog hostage for a minute here and use it as a soapbox to put forth my idea for NCAA football.
To start with, the current conferences would be abolished, mostly. This is probably the biggest show-stopper for the powers that be, but I'll keep moving on because the eventual benefits would outweigh the negatives.
Here are some facts to keep in mind while thinking about a new organization scheme:
- There are 119 teams in 1-A football.
- Travel is expensive.
- Every team should have the opportunity to win the National Championship.
Keeping these facts in mind, I have split the country into 4 zones: Western, Central, South-East, and North-East. These zones are geographical zones. Teams from each zone will be split up into 3 different Levels: A, B, & C. Each Level will ideally have 10 teams. Level A will be composed of the top 10 teams. Level B will have the next best 10 teams. Level C will have the next best...
Here is a picture of how the zones are arranged.
Each team in each zone/level will play against the other 9 teams every season. At the end of the season, the top two teams in each zone/level will play against each other to determine the zone/level champion. The champions will then enter a 4-team tournament with the Western champ playing the Central champ and the SE champ playing the NE champ. The winners play for the National Championship while the losers can optionally play for 3rd place.
Here is the best part that makes it fair for every team in America. The bottom team from each zone/level will drop a level while the top team will "level-up"!
There should be a "bowl game" for the bottom two teams of each zone/level as well as one for the top two teams from the lower levels. These "bowl games" will actually mean something!
So every team has a path to the National Championship! Even the lower level teams!
The best part is the quality of games throughout the season. Teams will play against teams of their own skill level. No more cakewalks! Every week of the season there will be many "College Game Day" games!
Imagine the money that will pour in for television rights to the games! Money for everyone! Great games for everyone! What's not to love?
There, now that I have that off my chest, I can get back to some real work.
